Meap of Faith

Danville Hospital

Isabella looked out of the window to watch the people that were setting up a makeshift stage in front of the hospital. She sighed and returned to the drab bed in this drab room. It had been three months since the invasion occurred, but it didn't seem like that to her. To Isabella, it felt like it happened both years ago and yesterday. She had been living in the hospital ever since. The paste that Phineas used to heal her wasn't intended for such a large cut. It was only a temporary fix before it fell apart. They said she was lucky to have survived that wound with the injuries she did, but one injury made her wish she had died. When she started thinking of the injuries she had suffered, she couldn't bare it. She shook her head and tried to think of something else.

"Isabella, you there?" a soft voice asked, accompanying the knock that sounded on her door.

"Come in," she responded as she pulled a blanket over herself. The door opened to let Phineas in. He was carrying a few flowers that he silently handed to her.

"Thank you," she said as she put them in the vase by her bed. Phineas had come every day since the invasion, bringing flowers three times a week. Even though his average visit was two hours long, they spent most of the time in silence. Both would ask the other how they were doing at least five times. However, there company meant more to each other than what could ever be described by words. In these new chaotic times, they were more than just friends. They reminded each other of a time where every day was fun and happy. It wasn't an exaggeration to say they were what kept each other sane.

"Isabella," Phineas started awkwardly after maybe twenty minutes of silence, "you know about that Spirit of Danville concert they're holding today, right?"

"Yeah," she responded, almost as awkward as Phineas, "They're putting it on outside the hospital."

"Do you wanna watch it with me?" he asked, his entire face turning red. Isabella's mind started going a thousand miles a minute, wondering if this could be a date.

"Of course!" she blurted out. She covered her mouth when she realized what she had said. She looked away from Phineas so he wouldn't see her face was even darker shade of red than his. "Where do you want to watch it?" she asked after another long period of silence.

"No one's allowed on roof," he responded with his usual smile. It took Isabella a few seconds to realize what he meant before returning the smile. He looked like he was about to say something more, but he was interrupted by someone else entering the room. Both young teens turned to see Django entering the room with a cloth-covered rectangle twice his size.

"Hey guys," he called from behind the thing.

"What is that?" Phineas asked as he rushed over to help his friend. The two eventually set down the object so it was leaning against the wall in front of Isabella's bed.

"I just finished last night and I wanted to give it to you guys," he explained as he gripped the cloth. Phineas and Isabella moved closer to see the object better as he yanked off the cloth. They were both speechless as they stared at his painting. On the right side, Isabella was surrounded by the Fireside Girls, all of which seemed to be simply enjoying themselves. On the left, Buford was playfully noogieing Baljeet. In the center were Phineas and Ferb looking over some blueprints. In the lower left corner, Irving was taking a picture of the scene while Django painted it in the lower right corner. At the top of the painting in beautiful letters were the words The Heroes of Danville.

"Django, it's…" Isabella tried to say, but she couldn't find the words.

"See ya guys later," Django said as he ran out. They both understood why. Ever since the invasion, Django had a lot of trouble being in wide open spaces and being rooms with windows. He got off easy in comparison to Millie and Baljeet. Millie was similar to before, but she just wasn't all there. You would need to shout her name before she would notice you. Also, she passed time just staring into space. She didn't do much of anything. Django was almost always with her, trying to help. Baljeet was even worse. He blamed himself for the deaths of everyone. That pressure was too much for him and he snapped. His parents took him back to India, hoping that his home country would help him recover. Adyson had retained her sanity, but she lost use of her right arm due to the recoil of a really powerful gun. When the army learned that she had been the one responsible for the destruction of Zeus they hired her as a military advisor, calling her a prodigy. She was then flown off to a military base somewhere they wouldn't tell her friends.

"Meet me there at six Isabella," Phineas said as he turned to leave. Isabella wanted to call him back, but decided not to. He was also dealing with a lot. She didn't want to bother him. She'd wait for six.

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"Phineas," Isabella said as she ran up to him. He was already waiting on the edge of the roof. Some of the bands had already gone on, but there were more coming. This catastrophe had achieved global scale news. Across the country, aid was coming in to assist rebuilding efforts and the families hurt by the event. Some people said Danville deserved this because they recently passed some laws that they considered too liberal or too conservative or too whatever. Everyone who said that lost all their credibility and was kicked off the air. No one could seriously or sanely say that innocent people deserved to be slaughtered like that. The Spirit of Danville event was both a fundraising event and a way to motivate the citizens of Danville.

"Hey Isabella," Phineas greeted her and motioned for her to take a seat next to him. There was an endless variety of people and genres. There were bands as famous as Queen to singers like Nina Ferraro, who had only recently appeared on the music scene, to everything in between. All genres were represented with rappers, country singers, rock stars, and Weird Al. Only the pickiest of the picky wouldn't find something they liked playing. Some songs Phineas and Isabella danced to, others they just listened to, and some they tried desperately to block out. But the whole time, they were smiling.

"Isabella, thanks for coming with me," Phineas said as 3 Doors Down finished up The Champion in Me. "I don't think I could've gone without you."

"I know you miss Ferb," she replied. During the invasion, Phineas' mom had been killed. Ferb's body was never found, but he was declared dead. Now it was just Phineas, Candace, and their stepdad Lawrence.

"Time heals all wounds," he replied, looking emptily toward the stage that was currently switching bands.

"Not all wounds," Isabella mumbled as her hand moved to her waist. Phineas immediately regretted what he said. The cut Mitch had made on Isabella was really deep. To prevent infection, the doctors had to perform a hysterectomy. While she was alive, she was faced with a daunting fact. She would never be able to have a child. Phineas didn't speak. He just wrapped an arm around Isabella and pulled her close to him. That's when they saw Jeremy, Coltrane, and Miles take the stage. They didn't speak out about the incident. They just started playing a cover of Survive by Rise Against. After that, they played Sweet Victory and This is War. Then they began playing their own original songs. Isabella and Phineas danced to most of these. Their second-to-last song was slow, so Phineas were dancing much closer than usual. When the song ended, they didn't separate.

"Everyone, we're going to play our last song now!" Jeremy called out. "Hello."

"Hello," Coltrane said into his microphone.

"Hello," Miles said. And then he began drumming. They were playing How Far We've Come. Still, Isabella and Phineas stayed together.

"Isabella, I've decided something," Phineas said to her.

"What's that?" she asked, curious as to why he was being so serious.

"I'm going to become a doctor. I'll find a way to cure you," he explained, his eyes full of determination.

"You don't need to do that," she replied when she could finally find her voice. She was flattered, but she didn't see why he had to go that far for her.

"Yes, I do," he responded, looking deeply into her eyes as one of his hands came up to cup her cheek. "Isabella," he said with a tenderness that made her name sound like a prayer.

"Phineas," she said with an equally devout voice.

"I love you," he declared to the girl in the hospital gown on top of the hospital. What surprised Isabella wasn't his feelings, but the fact she wasn't surprised by them. This whole time, somewhere in the back of her mind, she had known. That didn't make her any less happy to hear the words out loud.

"Me too Phineas," she responded. The young couple's eyes were locked together as their faces drew closer.

"I'll be with you forever," Phineas whispered.

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The ending to How Far We've Come was spectacular with fireworks lighting up the entire night sky. Also, rumor has it that, if you looked closely, you could see the silhouette of a pair of lovers kissing on the roof of the hospital. Whether or not the story is true, it made that night even more magical.